5 WWE Superstars who defended Championships in Handicap matches

The match card for WWE Backlash 2020 is steadily building up, with another big match added to the PPV on tonight's WWE SmackDown. Universal Champion Braun Strowman defeated The Miz tonight, soon after which he was challenged to a Universal title Handicap match at the upcoming PPV. The Monster Among Men quickly accepted the challenge and the match is set for WWE Backlash.

Handicap matches are nothing that we haven't seen before, and are occasionally featured on WWE TV, with the heels having the numbers advantage in most of the cases. Championship Handicap matches, on the other hand, are a completely different ballgame. These matches not only raise the stakes higher but also provide a sense of intrigue as to who would take the belt if the challengers end up winning the match. In this slideshow, we'll take a look at 5 Championship Handicap matches that have taken place over the past two decades or so.

#5 Roman Reigns vs Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens (WWE United States Championship match)

On the January 9, 2017 episode of Monday Night RAW, Roman Reigns took on Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens in a 2-on-1 Handicap match, with The Big Dog's WWE United States title on the line. Reigns had won the belt after defeating Rusev months ago, at WWE Clash of Champions.

Reigns takes on Jericho and Owens:

The match saw Reigns doing his best to tackle the collective might of both Jericho and Owens, but the numbers game soon caught up with him. The ending to the match saw Owens and Reigns brawling at ringside, and the sequence ended with Owens delivering a thunderous Powerbomb on Roman, with his back hitting the ring in a disturbing visual. Moments later, Jericho hit a Codebreaker on an unconscious Reigns, thus becoming the United States Champion. Jericho and Owens both held titles now, as the latter was already the Universal Champion.

#4 The Rock vs The Dudley Boyz (WCW Championship Tables match)

Mere days before WrestleMania 17, Shane McMahon had revealed himself as the owner of WCW. Soon after WrestleMania was done and dusted with, Shane and Stephanie waged war on Vince McMahon, with several WCW and ECW wrestlers invading WWE shows and attacking WWE Superstars on TV. The months-long feud involved some of the biggest Superstars from all three companies, including The Rock.

The Rock vs The Dudley Boyz:

On the October 1, 2001 edition of WWE RAW, The Rock defended his WCW World title in a Handicap Tables match against The Dudley Boyz. The odds couldn't have been more against The Rock, as The Dudley Boyz were specialists in Tables matches. The Brahma Bull still managed to defeat the duo somehow. In the end, as Bubba Ray Dudley was about to pick up The Rock, The People's Champion surprised the villain with a Rock Bottom out of nowhere, right on top of the table, breaking it into two. As per the stipulation of the match, The Rock successfully defended his World title by putting Bubba through the table.

#3 AJ Styles vs Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn (WWE Championship match)

Mere days before Survivor Series 2017, AJ Styles defeated Jinder Mahal to win the WWE title on an episode of SmackDown. This was the first time in 14 years that the WWE Championship had changed hands on SmackDown. The Phenomenal One took on Brock Lesnar at Survivor Series in a Champion vs. Champion match, eventually losing the bout. Styles went on to engage in a feud with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. He lost two consecutive matches to the dastardly duo, due to interference. This led to a Handicap match at WWE Royal Rumble 2018, with the WWE title on the line.

At the PPV, Zayn and Owens dominated Styles throughout the match, though the WWE Champion had a strong showing on various occasions. In the end, Styles managed to score a pin on Zayn to retain his WWE title, despite the odds being heavily stacked against him. He would go on to successfully defend the belt over the next few months, including a win over Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34.

#2 Seth Rollins vs AOP (RAW Tag Team Championship match)

In late 2018, Roman Reigns announced that he was relinquishing the Universal title and taking time off to battle leukemia. The announcement took the wrestling world by storm, and The Big Dog was given an emotional send-off by Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose. On the same night, Ambrose and Rollins took on Drew McIntyre and Dolph Ziggler with the WWE RAW Tag Team titles on the line. The babyfaces won the match, and the belts, but more surprises were in store for the fans. Following the victory, Ambrose turned on Rollins and attacked him.

Rollins loses the Tag Team belts on WWE RAW:

On the November 5, 2018, edition of WWE RAW, Constable Corbin pitted Rollins in a Handicap Tag Team title match against Authors of Pain. Rollins was holding the Tag Team titles, but there was no way Ambrose would help him defend the belts at that point. A double-team effort by AOP ended Rollins and the villains won the RAW Tag Team titles.

#1 The Rock vs Kane and Christian (WWE Championship match)

WWE SmackDown was a must-watch show for almost the entirety of the year 2000. The Rock was a major babyface on the Blue brand for the better part of the year. On the September 7, 2000 episode of SmackDown, Christian confronted The Rock, after the latter took Edge out with a steel chair in the backstage area. He further stated that there would be a WWE title match later in the night, as per orders from Commissioner Mick Foley.

The Rock faces insurmountable odds on WWE SmackDown:

Christian then introduced Kane as his surprise partner, and as Edge's replacement. The contest saw Kane dominating The Rock, but he lost his cool when Christian tried to pin The Great One. The ending saw Edge coming out and interrupting a ringside brawl between Christian and Kane. As Kane and Edge brawled outside, Christian took the opportunity and attempted to hit The Rock with the title belt. The Brahma Bull blocked the attack and executed a Rock Bottom to pick up the win.

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